When was the first iphone 1 released

When the iPhone shipped to customers on June 29, 2007, the first generation of the device that would change the world was missing a lot of what we now expect in an iPhone, but it set up the road map for Apple that continues to this day.

The first generation iPhone was, in many days, quite different than the ones we see in use today. For one thing, it was small, just 4.5 inches by 2.4 inches. By comparison, the iPhone XS Max launched in 2018 is 6.2 inches by 3.05 inches.

It also had no third-party apps whatsoever, and it topped out at 16GB of flash memory. The first iPhone was exclusive to AT&T, and ran only on AT&T's notoriously slow and unreliable EDGE GSM network.

But despite all of its shortcomings, relative to today, that first iPhone was hugely important. It was Apple's entry into a new category, at a time when the company's singular handheld device was the iPod.

The iPhone was the debut of the touchscreen, which would soon become standard in the category. Sure, there had been smartphones available from established manufacturers before, but they had physical keyboards and a much smaller screen.

Before the iPhone

In the fourth quarter of 2006, the year before the iPhone was announced, 22 million smartphones were sold worldwide, according to Canalys data, and about half of those devices were by then-market leader Nokia. RIM, the BlackBerry maker, was second in share, followed by Motorola, Palm and Sony Ericsson.

Smartphones at the time resembled the Motorola Q or the Samsung Blackjack -- a small, rectangular, handset, with a screen on top and buttons on the bottom. That began to change, however, in January 2007, when the first iPhone was announced.

Nobody thought it could happen, or would succeed

The launch of the iPhone was greeted by quite a few doubters.

Then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in an interview at the time that the iPhone had "no chance" of taking over the smartphone market.

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share," Ballmer told USA Today in April of 2007. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get." Ballmer admitted to Bloomberg in 2016 that he had been wrong, and that Microsoft had jumped into smarphones too late.

Ballmer wasn't alone. The then-CEOs of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, watched the iPhone unveiling in disbelief. According to a Wall Street Journal excerpt of "Losing the Signal," a book about RIM's rise and fall, Lazaridis pointed out, accurately, that "these guys are really, really good," while Balsillie said (not so accurately) that "it's OK-- we'll be fine."

There were doubters in the media, as well. "We Predict the iPhone Will Fail," a Techcrunch contributor wrote. TUAW now Engadget rounded up complaints about the phone, with AdAge expecting the device to fail as well.

The rollout

Steve Jobs had reportedly eyed using touchscreens on Apple devices as early as 2005. Following the failed experiment of the Motorola ROKR, a phone that came equipped with iTunes, Apple decided to develop its own phone, which would incorporate the iPod's musical functions into a smartphone.

The iPhone was announced during that year's Macworld event in San Francisco, on January 9, 2007.

"This is a day I've been looking forward to for two-and-a-half years," Jobs said in the keynote. He went on to point out the leading smartphones of the time -- the Motorola Q, the Palm Treo, the the Nokia E62, and the BlackBerry -- and to trash them, compared to his new product.

"They all have these keyboards that are there, whether you need them or not to be there, and they all have these controls buttons that are fixed in plastic and are the same for every application." said Jobs. "What we're going to do is get rid of these buttons and replace them with a giant screen."

A few weeks later came the "Hello" commercial, which featured a succession of movie clips of characters answering telephones and saying "hello":

The original iPhone reached the market on June 29, 2007. In the U.S. it was priced at $499 and $599, for 4GB and 8GB models, respectively, along with a two-year contract with AT&T.

The first iPhone ran on what was then called iPhone OS 1, as the iOS naming convention wouldn't be adopted until 2010. It boasted only Apple's native apps, as third-party applications wouldn't be available until the App Store launched along with the iPhone 3G a year later.

The initial iPhone received mostly positive reviews.

"As it turns out, much of the hype and some of the criticisms are justified," David Pogue wrote in the New York Times. "The iPhone is revolutionary; it's flawed. It's substance; it's style. It does things no phone has ever done before; it lacks features found even on the most basic phones."

"Despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer," Walter Mossberg wrote in The Wall Street Journal's All Things D. "Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.

Apple sold 1.9 million iPhones in 2007, according to Statista. By contrast, they sold 216.76 million iPhones in 2017. It took Apple a few years to earn a dominant market position, as the device improved, it added more features, and it became both more affordable and available on more carriers.

The iPod Touch, which brought an iPhone-style touchscreen to the iPod range, arrived later in 2007, while the iPad followed in 2010.

End of life

The original iPhone's successor, the iPhone 3G, arrived a year later, adding 3G functionality, apps and more; the first iPhone was discontinued the same week. Apple ultimately declared the first-generation iPhone "obsolete" in June 2013, prior to the unveiling of the iPhone 5 and 5S.

A prototype of the first-generation iPhone sold for $1500 on eBay in 2013.

Legacy

The first iPhone is primarily remembered as the product that set Apple on its current course, as a company in which the iPhone is the product line that both sells the most and is most important to the company's bottom line and financial health. Before it, almost no mobile devices had touchscreens; now, nearly all of them do.

That original iPhone sold just over 6 million in its first year. While current iPhone sales significantly outpace that number, the first iPhone's legacy is secure as one of the most important products in Apple history.

iPhone 5 was the first Apple phone to launch in September, a trend that would continue through today. But 2 years after the 5 was released, Apple unveiled 2 additional models to the series. The 6 Plus joined the 6 in a simultaneous release in 2014, marketed as “bigger than bigger” and “the two and only.”

The 6 Plus set the tone for display size as subsequent 7 Plus and 8 Plus models also sport a 5.5” screen, while the traditional 6, 7 and 8 versions have all been 4.7”.

Aside from larger displays, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus boasted faster processors, upgraded cameras and improved LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity. The 7 and 7 Plus introduced new color options and water and dust resistance and removed the 3.5mm headphone jack.

September 2017: “Say hello to the future.”

The first-ever Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California introduced the world to 4K Apple TV, Apple Watch Series 3, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. A historic event, headlined by iPhone X (released in November) to commemorate the release of the very first iPhone a decade earlier.

iPhone X became the first Apple phone to usher in OLED screen technology, wireless charging and an edge-to-edge screen display. The home button was removed and now Face ID allows users to unlock their phone with a look and Animojis mimicked their movements.

Portrait Mode, Portrait Lighting, digital image stabilization, TrueDepth and optical image stabilization all contributed to Consumer Reports praising iPhone X’s camera as the highest-rated smartphone camera ever.

September 2018: "Welcome to the big screens."

Apple built off the previous years' iPhone X, spawning three new creations: iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. XS and XS Max deliver super retina in two sizes, including the largest display ever on an iPhone, faster Face ID, a smarter and more powerful chip and a breakthrough dual-camera system. As an alternative, iPhone XR is engineered with an all-new Liquid Retina display, allowing you to see true-to-life color from one edge of your screen to the other on the largest LCD ever for an iPhone.

From FaceTime to Face ID, iPhone has left a permanent mark on how we experience smartphone technology. And these innovations and success have spawned the popular iPhone SE and C series’.

October 2020: “Hello 5G.”

The launch of the iPhone 12 series includes some new colors and 4 phones all with 5G support. The new series features Ceramic Shield, which has 4 times better drop performance as well as an A14 Bionic chip, 16-core Neural Engine and is super efficient for great battery life. 5G offers superfast speeds and super low latency so you can get faster downloads, better-quality video streaming, more responsive gaming and real-time interactivity.

All-new to iPhone 12 is an Ultra-Wide camera that now captures Night mode images and a Wide camera that now captures 27% more light.

But for all the great phones currently available from Apple, the future is even more exciting. If their track record is any indication, there are plenty of thrilling technological advancements waiting just around the corner. So be sure to check out all the great devices and accessories from Apple at Verizon, your destination for the hottest new phones, all on the nation's most reliable 4G  and 5G network.